Bamboo

With growing consumer environmental awareness, interest in bamboo flooring, building materials and furnishings has soared. As an attractive and sturdy alternative to hardwood flooring, bamboo is tough to beat.

What is Bamboo?

Bamboo is a type of grass with a hard, woody, hollow stem and is an extremely hard substance. Since it is fast-growing and can grow in dense conditions, it is considered one of the best renewable resources on the planet.

China is one of the few countries in the world rich in bamboo resources and is the largest producer of bamboo products in the world. Bamboo use in China dates back over 4,000 years. The flexibility and durability of bamboo products is what made the material very popular and reliable. Many ancient cultural artifacts for daily production and living were made from bamboo, as were the earliest suspension bridges in China.

Bamboo harvesting provides a sole means of making a living for many bamboo farmers in the poor mountainous regions in the south. This bamboo industry is also supported and encouraged by the local government.

Environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable product

Bamboo’s environmental benefits arise largely out of its ability to grow and spread quickly without the need for fertilizers, pesticides or much water, reaching maturity after four to six years (compared to 10-20 years for hardwood). Bamboo has a very extensive rooting system, from which new bamboo grows after harvesting. It is so fast-growing that it can yield 20 times more timber than trees on the same area.

Harder than Oak and Maple

Bamboo flooring is stronger, denser and more stable than many hardwoods. Janka ratings have shown strand woven bamboo to be 13% harder than maple and 27% harder than northern red oak, on average. Bamboo expands and contracts 50% less than timber and is 99% termite safe.

Not Easy to Shrink, Swell or Curve

Bamboo fibers are vertical, meaning they are processed in the same direction as the fibers. This reduces the opportunity for moisture absorption compared with traditional woods where the fibers are round. n process, bamboo is steamed and dried to reach the moisture at to 8-10, which prevents curving after installation and also anti-mildew.

Installation is quick and simple

Like its timber counterparts, bamboo flooring shows variations in color across the laid floor. It is similarly priced to quality tongue and groove hard timber flooring, but has an advantage in that sanding and sealing is not required on installation, it is ready to walk on immediately.

Some Interesting Facts…

Bamboo flooring has gained popularity as an environmentally sustainable building material that is stronger than most hardwoods. Manufactured from a grass that reaches full maturity in 3-6 years, bamboo flooring has been lauded as an attractive green building material that has numerous advantages that go beyond environmental concerns.

While there are various styles of bamboo flooring being manufactured, horizontal flooring is the style most associated with bamboo floors. This flooring uses strips, called fillets, of bamboo that are laid at right angles for maximum stability. This allows the knuckles of the bamboo to be prominently featured in the pattern of the flooring.

Vertical flooring uses fillets that are assembled so they are perpendicular to the floor displaying the narrowest edge of the strips. This creates subtly striped plank that has an appearance similar to many wood grains.

The third style, strand woven flooring, is created when the waste strips used from filleting the bamboo are coated with resin and compressed into timbers using heat. These timbers are then milled to create tongue and grove planks. The process used to create strand woven planks significantly increases the strength of the material when compared to other bamboo flooring styles.

Bamboo flooring is available in two main colours: natural and carbonized. These colours are also descriptors of what occurs during the manufacturing process. To create a carbonized colour, bamboo is boiled for long periods of time until the material darkens. Natural bamboo flooring is boiled only enough to remove the starch and sugar in the material but the material still retains its blond colour.

All style and colour options are milled to create tongue and groove planks that are installed like hardwood flooring. Although bamboo often contains less moisture than wood, it is important to allow this material to acclimate at the job site before installing. Most manufacturers recommend at least a 72 hour acclimation time.

Many consumers seek out bamboo flooring as an environmentally responsible building material because of its quick growth and sustainable harvesting practices. However the actual environmental impact of this green material can be greatly affected by the manufacturing process that is used in creating it.

The glues and resins used to make this product can create toxic off-gassing and unsustainable growing and harvesting practices can be used during the farming stage. For this reason, any green building material purchased for its environmental advantages should meet government safety and emission standards.

Despite these concerns, the U.S. Green Building Council recognizes bamboo flooring as a green building material that is eligible to receive points under the LEED rating system. LEED is used to certify buildings that meet environmentally sound building standards and is partially credited with increasing the popularity of this green material.

Bamboo flooring can be an excellent choice for both residential and commercial interiors. Its durability, cost, and status as a green building material make it an attractive choice for many homeowners. As more consumers are exposed to the advantages of this unique product, expect to see them reaping the benefits of bamboo floors.

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